World Contraception Day marked by study

A study printed to coincide with World Contraception Day has shown that the number of your people engaging in unprotected sex has risen significantly since 2009.

The study, which involved surveying information from 200 British young people aged 16 - 19 collected during a larger study of 6,026 young people (aged between 15 and 24) from 29 countries, revealed a number of worrying statistics relating to usage and understanding of contraception. Of the British teens studied, 61% had had sex. Of those, 43% had had unprotected sex with a new partner, up from 36% in 2009.

Understanding contraception was raised as an issue, with 55% of girls and 62% of boys saying they did not feel well informed about contraception. The withdrawal method of contraception (known as coitus interruptus) was believed to be an effective technique of contraception by 16% of participants, when in actual fact it has an actual use estimated failure rate of up to 28%, which is far higher than other methods of contraception. The results also showed that 19% of girls and 16% of boys did not receive any sex education while at school, while a number of young people (16%) who did receive information did not trust it to be accurate and unbiased.

World Contraception Day has been devised as a worldwide campaign to promote awareness of contraception, with the motto “Live Your Life. Know your rights. Learn about contraception.” A coalition of 10 bodies, including NGOs and medical societies, is supporting the annual event, and it is being sponsored by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals.